25 Years Later  Who Knew I Still Loved You?
by morethenaprettyfacex3
Summary: He left her at the alter and walked out of her life 25 years ago. Now, a twist of fate brings Cristina & Burke back together. Will them being around each other make them realize they still love each other? Read & Respond


Cristina Yang hasn't had many moments in life when she can say she was truly proud of herself or anyone else. Honeslty, the only one she can remember is becoming Chief Of Surgery at Seattle Grace once Dr Webber stepped down. The other one that always crossed her mind was the day she gave birth to her daughter. She put out a new face for single Mom, proving you can have an amazing carrer and still be a good Mother. She has been on the cover of every medical magazine in the country, being called one of the best in the last 50 years. They always compare her with one other surgon, a surgon who made a name for his self in New York, and on the whole East Coast for that matter. A surgon who she knew, respected, and once loved.

Cristina was getting ready, looking at the magazine article in some medical magazine, she wasn't sure which one it was "Will Cristina Yang Surpass Preston Burke?" Deep down, ever since he left her at the alter right before her residency started, she wanted to crush him as her compention. In her own twisted way, it would be revenge. She smiled to herself, as she heard her bedroom door open.

"Mother, I have to be there in 20 minutes and you're not even fully dressed yet. No one knows who this speaker is, and I would really like to know!" she heard her 25 year old daughter, Desiree Yang, whine, as Cristina looked up at her in the reflection of her mirror.

"Look, the way you drive, we can be there in five. All I have to do is put a dress on, and that's laying on my bed, and slip on shoes. I'll be ready within five minutes, so take a chill pill" she shot back, smiling as Desiree walked back to her room. Desiree was one of them people Cristina was proud of. Having gone to Stanford, just like Cristina, and wanted to be a surgon, just like Cristina, made her real proud. Cristina would've supported her daughter no matter what she wanted to do with her life, but it made her feel so proud that she wanted to follow in her footsteps - and her fathers. Cristina glanced back down at the magazine, at the pictures of her and him side by side. She's always wondered if he thought about her like she did him. She always wondered if he even knew she was pregnant when he left her at the alter. She left all the key evidence around the apartment, and dropped numerous hints. _"Guess I'll never find out"_ Cristina whispered to her reflection, closing the magazine, as she finished getting ready.

"Mom, I am so excited for this, you have no idea. Well, you do have a idea, you know how all this is. I just wonder who the guest speaker is. They don't even have it anywhere, what if it's you? No you would've told me" Desiree rambled a mile a minute, as Cristina laughed a few minutes later, walking into the hotel where the conference was going to be held. The conference was for the top five precent of Stanford's graduated, and Desiree was in the top two - just like Cristina was.

"Hon, breathe, and calm down. The guest speaker will be reveled soon enough. And no, it's not me because you're right, I would've told you if it was, and I also would've been here hours ago" Cristina responded, as they both took their seats in the third row. Soon after they had sat down, everything started. Looking over at her daughter, and seeing her into everything her daughter was made Cristina chuckle a bit. Desiree reminded her so much of herself, and of him, it was scary in a way.

"Mom, they're gonna announce the guest speaker!" Desiree whispered, shaking Cristina's hand and snapping her out of her thought. She smiled at her daughter, as she looked up on the stage, her face dropping and her heart pounding a minute as she saw who it was. Memories started flooding back, the on-call room, the miscarriage, the apartment, the shooting, the wedding, it was all coming back to Cristina in ways she didn't think was possible after twenty five years. She felt her ring on her finger with her thumb, the ring she said she wouldn't wear has become the ring she's never taken off since he's left her.

"I would love to even be able to scrub into one of his surgeries, let alone actually assist him" she heard her daughter whisper, as she didn't take his eyes off him. His smile that she's missed for so long. Them eyes that she used to get lost in every night before she went to sleep. That voice that used to smoothe her and calm her down when she couldn't think straight. They all belonged to one man, one man she she thought she hated after he left her like he did, but she wasn't so sure anymore. "Mom, they're doing this meet and greet after the conference, can we go? I'd love to meet him, and you get to meet who you're compared to" Desiree whispered, as Cristina slowly nodded in agreement, not being able to take her eyes off of him.

"We're next we're next!" Desiree whispered a little while later, in the meet and greet line. Cristina could tell how excited Desiree was. Cristina on the other hand, she was scared shitless to say the least. She hasn't seen or spoken to Preston Burke in twenty five years, since he left her at the alter, so why should she start now?

"It'd be better if maybe we didn't meet, we may judge each other off the bat. I'm going to go get a drink, you stay in line, and after you meet him we can go out to say - say Pizza Hut?" Cristina didn't even wait around for a answer, she bolted out of that line as quick as she possibly could. She has avoided him for this long, why would she talk to him now?

Desiree on the other hand, was filled with exictment, as she stepped up to face him face to face "Doctor Preston Burke, you are amazing to say the least. To even be speaking to you is a honor, and it's even more amazing I may intern at the same hospital you once worked at" Desiree quickly said, as he laughed.

"Seattle Grace was an amazing place to work at, and it has an amazing program. By the way, I don't know if you told me it, and if you did, I didn't catch it, what's your name?"

"Desiree, Desiree Yang" she proudly answered, as his heart dropped. It couldn't be true, he didn't have a child with Cristina. However, her light brown sugar colored skin, along with black curly hair and almond shaped eyes maybe proved him otherwise. "You may have heard of my Mother" Desiree said, laughing at her statment. "Well, I KNOW you've heard of my Mother" Burke took in a deep breath, as he saw Desiree point over to the punch table, and his heart dropped as he saw who she was pointing to. "That's my Mother, and your rival I suppose, Cristina Yang"


End file.
